Your roof is the first thing every storm tests.
Your roof protects everything under it, and it ages faster than most homeowners expect. Before you repair or replace it, it helps to know how old it is, what it is made of, and what the weather has already put it through.
Free to check. No calls unless you ask.
Property report. No calls unless you ask.
Why it matters
A roof is one of the largest single expenses a home will ever hand you. Knowing its real age and history keeps you from replacing it years early, and from getting caught by a leak years late.
In the insurance regulators' own worked example, two houses take the same $15,000 roof damage with the same $1,000 deductible. The one settled at actual cash value is paid $4,000, because depreciation comes off first. The other is paid $14,000.
National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Rebuilding After a Storm, 2021
That is the service life given to an asphalt shingle roof. Slate and clay are given a lifetime, copper the same. Which one is over your head decides whether age is even a question.
National Association of Home Builders, Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components, 2007
The standard policy form excludes “wear and tear, marring, deterioration” outright. A roof that simply got old is your bill, not the insurer's.
ISO Homeowners 3 Special Form HO 00 03 10 00 (2000), Section I Exclusions 2.c.(6)(a)
Age, material and what the weather has already done are what decide all three of those, and none of them can be read off a screen. Somebody has to get on the roof.
What to understand
A few things worth knowing before you decide.
Age and material
Asphalt, metal, tile and wood age on completely different timelines, and age drives most of the decision.
Storm history
Hail and wind shorten a roof’s life, sometimes without leaving damage you could see from the ground.
What insurance covers
Storm damage is often covered. Timing and documentation usually decide the outcome, not the damage itself.
Start with your property.
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